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World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages
The Roadmap to Language Competence
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What Are the World-Readiness Standards?
The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages
create a roadmap to guide learners to develop competence to communicate effectively and interact with cultural competence to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world.
This publication is a collaborative project of AATA, AATF, AATG, AATI, AATJ, AATK, AATMG, AATSP, ACL, ACTFL, ACTR, ASLTA, CLASS, CLTA, MLA, NCOLCTL, and National Standards Task Force for Hindi.
The
World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages
define the central role of world languages in the learning career of every student.
The five goal areas of the Standards establish an inextricable link between communication and culture, which is applied in making connections and comparisons and in using this competence to be part of local and global communities.
View a video overview of the
World-Readiness Standards
here:
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Purchase the Standards
The Standards are available as a print volume and downloadable ebooks, combined with your preferred language. You can also get the Standards ebook with all available languages included at our bookstore.
Purchase at the ACTFL bookstore
The History of the Standards
With the help of a three-year grant from the US Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities, an eleven-member task force, representing a variety of languages, levels of instruction, program models, and geographic regions, undertook the task of defining content standards — what students should know and be able to do — in language learning. The final document,
Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Preparing for the 21st Century
, first published in 1996, represents an unprecedented consensus among educators, business leaders, government, and the community on the definition and role of language instruction in American education. This visionary document has been used by teachers, administrators, and curriculum developers at both state and local levels to begin to improve language education in our nation's schools.
The National Standards for Learning Languages have been revised based on what language educators have learned from more than 15 years of implementing the Standards. The guiding principle was to clarify what language learners would do to demonstrate progress on each Standard.
The
World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages
create a roadmap to guide learners to develop competence to communicate effectively and interact with cultural understanding.
“World-Readiness” signals that the Standards have been revised with important changes to focus on the literacy developed and the real-world applications. Learners who add another language and culture to their preparation are not only college- and career-ready, but are also “world-ready”—that is, prepared to add the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to their résumés for entering postsecondary study or a career.
These Standards are equally applicable to:
learners at all levels, from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary levels
native speakers and heritage speakers, including ESL students
American Sign Language
Classical Languages (Latin and Greek)
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Get the Two-Page Summary PDF
As an ACTFL member you have free access to the two-page summary of the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages.
Download the PDF now
Statement of Philosophy
Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience. The United States must educate students who are linguistically and culturally equipped to communicate successfully in a pluralistic American society and abroad. This imperative envisions a future in which ALL students will develop and maintain proficiency in English and at least one other language, modern or classical. Children who come to school from non-English backgrounds should also have opportunities to develop further proficiencies in their first language.
Perfect for your classroom!
Get the 5 Cs Poster
Purchase the poster, which highlights the Standards goal areas— also known as the 5 Cs (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities). A description of each of the 11 standards is also included.
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“The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese is proud to have played a role in the creation of the new revised World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. We know that the new Standards will play a vital role in the creation of curricular frameworks and lesson plans for all instructors K-16.”
Emily Spinelli
AATSP
“We are delighted to see the revised Standards. We especially welcome the Sample Performance Indicators for Elementary, Middle and High School, and Post-Secondary students. Congratulations to the team.”
Mary Helen Kashuba
AATF
“The revised and newly designated World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages build on the existing and now familiar five goals (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities) with a clear and comprehensive articulation of the previous Standards through the addition of literacy and career readiness for K-16+ students.”
Frank Nuessel
Past President & Salvatore Bancheri, President, AATI
“The revised Standards continue to address the original five goal areas, while the descriptors are re-focused, identifying the critical thinking skills necessary for students to acquire new languages, including classical languages.”
Kathy Elifrits
ACL
“The revised World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages not only provide guidance to Korean teachers on how and what to teach K-16+ students incorporating 21st century skills, but also help create the framework for the curriculum and assessment and eventually build the community of practice and understanding nationwide.”
Korean SIG
AATK
More Resources
Online Library
Online Library
Access the online library listing of almost 600 publications on the National Standards.
Survey Results (PDF)
A Decade of Foreign Language Standards: Impact, Influence, and Future Directions
Read
"A Decade of Foreign Language Standards: Impact, Influence, and Future Directions."
(PDF) |
Survey Results
(PDF)
To cite this publication:
The National Standards Collaborative Board. (2015).
World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages
. 4th ed. Alexandria, VA: Author.
The National Standards Collaborative Board is a collaborative effort of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic, American Association of Teachers of French, American Association of Teachers of German, American Association of Teachers of Italian, American Association of Teachers of Japanese, American Association of Teachers of Korean, American Association of Teachers of Modern Greek, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, American Classical League, American Council of Teachers of Russian, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, American Sign Language Teachers Association, Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools, Chinese Language Teachers Association, Modern Language Association, National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, and National Standards Task Force for Hindi.
To cite the language-specific Standards: Each language-specific Standard is considered a part of the general World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages publication and are considered ‘chapters’ within the publication. They do not have separate identifiers or ISBNs.
View the
Standards Summary web page
headings
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